European Court rules against Turkish State in Hrant Dink Judgement
TURKEY 'FAILED TO PROTECT' SLAIN JOURNALIST HRANT DINK
BBC
14 Sept 2010
Hrant Dink was one of the most prominent voices in the Turkish-Armenian
community
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Turkey failed to
protect the life of journalist Hrant Dink, who was murdered in 2007.
Turkish authorities were warned that ultra-nationalists were plotting
to kill Dink, but failed to act, it said.
Dink, editor of a Turkish-Armenian newspaper, had been prosecuted
for allegedly denigrating "Turkishness".
The European court ordered Turkey to pay Dink's family 105,000 euros
(£88,000) in compensation.
"The court took the view that the Turkish security forces could
reasonably be considered to have been aware of the intense hostility
towards Hrant Dink in nationalist circles," the ruling said.
"None of the three authorities informed of the planned assassination
and its imminent realisation had taken action to prevent it."
Dink was shot in the head three times near the office of his newspaper,
Agos, in Istanbul.
In 2005, the journalist had been handed a six-month suspended prison
sentence after he was accused of denigrating "Turkishness" in writings
about the mass killings of Armenians during World War I.
Dink had angered nationalists with his appeals for Turkey to recognise
its role in the killings.
Turkey has resisted widespread calls for it to recognise the 1915-16
killings as genocide.
In its ruling on Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights also
found that Turkey had failed to protect Dink's freedom of speech.
The main suspect in Dink's murder is on trial along with 18 suspected
accomplices.
BBC
14 Sept 2010
Hrant Dink was one of the most prominent voices in the Turkish-Armenian
community
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Turkey failed to
protect the life of journalist Hrant Dink, who was murdered in 2007.
Turkish authorities were warned that ultra-nationalists were plotting
to kill Dink, but failed to act, it said.
Dink, editor of a Turkish-Armenian newspaper, had been prosecuted
for allegedly denigrating "Turkishness".
The European court ordered Turkey to pay Dink's family 105,000 euros
(£88,000) in compensation.
"The court took the view that the Turkish security forces could
reasonably be considered to have been aware of the intense hostility
towards Hrant Dink in nationalist circles," the ruling said.
"None of the three authorities informed of the planned assassination
and its imminent realisation had taken action to prevent it."
Dink was shot in the head three times near the office of his newspaper,
Agos, in Istanbul.
In 2005, the journalist had been handed a six-month suspended prison
sentence after he was accused of denigrating "Turkishness" in writings
about the mass killings of Armenians during World War I.
Dink had angered nationalists with his appeals for Turkey to recognise
its role in the killings.
Turkey has resisted widespread calls for it to recognise the 1915-16
killings as genocide.
In its ruling on Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights also
found that Turkey had failed to protect Dink's freedom of speech.
The main suspect in Dink's murder is on trial along with 18 suspected
accomplices.
EUROPEAN COURT FINES TURKEY 105,000 EUROS FOR FAILING DINK
Hurriyet
Sept 14 2010
Turkey
The European court's verdict will have a significant effect on the
pending case in Turkey, the Dink family lawyer says. DAILY NEWS photo,
Hasan ALTINIÅ~^IK
The European Court of Human Rights has found the Turkish state guilty
of failing to protect the right to life and freedom of expression of
slain journalist Hrant Dink, the court said in a statement Tuesday.
The court also found Turkey guilty of failing to protect Dink's right
to due legal process and ordered the state to pay 105,000 euros to
the murdered journalist's family in total compensation, as well as
an extra 28,595 euros to the court for expenses, according to the
statement, which was released on Dink's birthday.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that it would not appeal
the case at the European court. In its statement, the ministry said
precautions would be taken to prevent similar breaches of rights in
the future.
The case at the European court was initially an investigation into
Dink's conviction for "insulting Turkishness" in his column in the
weekly newspaper Agos. The Turkish journalist of Armenian origin had
brought the case against the Turkish state to the European court.
After Dink was killed in front of Agos' building in Istanbul in
January 2007, his family opened an additional case at the European
court, accusing Turkey of failing to protect the journalist's right
to life. The two cases were later merged.
Turkey's defense at the European court attracted widespread criticism
after it drew parallels between neo-Nazism and Dink's perspectives.
The defense also said Dink did not ask for personal protection,
a fact it suggested meant he was not under threat.
Dink family lawyer Arzu Becerik said the European court's verdict would
significantly affect the ongoing criminal case on the journalist's
murder, private news channel CNNTurk reported.
Becerik said they had informed the European court of their criminal
complaints against public officers who had allegedly neglected to
protect Dink, and of the lack of results from such complaints.
The European court's decision on the breach of the right to due legal
process will play a role in the ongoing Turkish case about Dink's
murder, Becerik said. The current case in Turkish courts "is not
targeting the real criminals and is not capable enough of doing so,"
the lawyer added.
"Unfortunately none of the decisions will bring back Hrant; that is
why our happiness is bitter," Aris Nalcı, the legally responsible
editor of weekly Agos, said after the verdict was announced.
"What other decision could have been made in a tragic situation like
this?" Etyen Mahcupyan, a former editor-in-chief of Agos, asked.
"Turkey has become used to these kinds of cases."
Hurriyet
Sept 14 2010
Turkey
The European court's verdict will have a significant effect on the
pending case in Turkey, the Dink family lawyer says. DAILY NEWS photo,
Hasan ALTINIÅ~^IK
The European Court of Human Rights has found the Turkish state guilty
of failing to protect the right to life and freedom of expression of
slain journalist Hrant Dink, the court said in a statement Tuesday.
The court also found Turkey guilty of failing to protect Dink's right
to due legal process and ordered the state to pay 105,000 euros to
the murdered journalist's family in total compensation, as well as
an extra 28,595 euros to the court for expenses, according to the
statement, which was released on Dink's birthday.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that it would not appeal
the case at the European court. In its statement, the ministry said
precautions would be taken to prevent similar breaches of rights in
the future.
The case at the European court was initially an investigation into
Dink's conviction for "insulting Turkishness" in his column in the
weekly newspaper Agos. The Turkish journalist of Armenian origin had
brought the case against the Turkish state to the European court.
After Dink was killed in front of Agos' building in Istanbul in
January 2007, his family opened an additional case at the European
court, accusing Turkey of failing to protect the journalist's right
to life. The two cases were later merged.
Turkey's defense at the European court attracted widespread criticism
after it drew parallels between neo-Nazism and Dink's perspectives.
The defense also said Dink did not ask for personal protection,
a fact it suggested meant he was not under threat.
Dink family lawyer Arzu Becerik said the European court's verdict would
significantly affect the ongoing criminal case on the journalist's
murder, private news channel CNNTurk reported.
Becerik said they had informed the European court of their criminal
complaints against public officers who had allegedly neglected to
protect Dink, and of the lack of results from such complaints.
The European court's decision on the breach of the right to due legal
process will play a role in the ongoing Turkish case about Dink's
murder, Becerik said. The current case in Turkish courts "is not
targeting the real criminals and is not capable enough of doing so,"
the lawyer added.
"Unfortunately none of the decisions will bring back Hrant; that is
why our happiness is bitter," Aris Nalcı, the legally responsible
editor of weekly Agos, said after the verdict was announced.
"What other decision could have been made in a tragic situation like
this?" Etyen Mahcupyan, a former editor-in-chief of Agos, asked.
"Turkey has become used to these kinds of cases."
COURT: TURKEY MUST PAY SLAIN JOURNALIST'S FAMILY
The Associated Press
Tuesday, Sep. 14, 2010
ANKARA
Turkey Turkey must pay about $170,000 (euro133,000) to the family
of a slain ethnic Armenian journalist, the European Court of Human
Rights ruled Tuesday, saying the state failed to protect him despite
threats against his life.
The verdict also awarded the compensation to Hrant Dink's family
because of a lack of respect for freedom of expression, and for failure
to conduct a thorough investigation into the murder, the court said.
Dink was shot by an alleged hardline nationalist teenager outside
the Istanbul office of the minority Agos newspaper on Jan. 19, 2007.
The journalist had sought to encourage reconciliation between Turkey
and Armenia, but angered Turkish nationalists with assertions that the
mass killings of Armenians around the time of World War I constituted
genocide.
His killing led to international condemnation and debate within Turkey
about free speech. The gunman and several others have gone on trial
for his death.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that the country
would not appeal the decision and that it "would abide by the ruling
and take measures to prevent reoccurrence of such violations."
His family welcomed the decision and said it would donate the money
to educational charities.
"He has been cleared," his wife, Rakel Dink, said in tears. "Today's
decision has confirmed that he was right."
Turkey, a candidate to become a member of the European Union, is
trying to prove its commitment to democracy.
COURT FAULTS TURKEY OVER EDITOR'S MURDER
By MARC CHAMPION
Wall Street Journal
Sept 14 2010
ISTANBUL
The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday ruled that Turkey was
guilty of failing to protect ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
when authorities knew his assassination was imminent, and of then
failing to adequately investigate his murder.
Mr. Dink, the editor of the small, Istanbul-based Armenian-language
daily Agos, was killed with three shots to the back of the head as
he returned to the newspaper's offices in January 2007. His murder
became a cause celèbre in Turkey, and a symbol of the state's alleged
protection or even encouragement of nationalist extremists.
"None of the three authorities informed of the planned assassination
and its imminent realization had taken action to prevent it," the
court found, while "no effective investigation had been carried out"
into those failures.
The decision is an embarrassment for the government of Turkey's
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which has pledged to improve the
rights and treatment of the country's ethnic minorities. The government
recently sought to settle with the family, after withdrawing a defense
of the state's actions that relied on a precedent that appeared to
compare Mr. Dink's comments aimed at reconciling Turkish and Armenian
views on the 1915 slaughter of ethnic Armenians with hate speech by
a neo-Nazi.
A spokesman for the ministry of justice didn't return calls requesting
comment on the ruling. Turkey's foreign ministry issued a statement
saying the government didn't intend to appeal the court ruling,
and that "studies for implementation of Dink verdict rulings will
be done and every possible measure for preventing repeat of similar
violations will be taken."
Mr. Dink's family brought the case against the Turkish state at the
European court in Strasbourg. Tuesday's ruling found for the family
on all counts, according to their lawyer Arzu Becerik, awarding Mr.
Dink's widow ~@100,000 ($128,760) in damages.
Police launched an investigation into the young Turkish
ultranationalist who allegedly carried out the murder. They
investigated 17 others, though not the police chiefs and regional
governors the family believe were complicit in obstructing prosecution
of those responsible, Ms. Becerik said in an interview. A video taken
immediately after the assassination appeared to show police smiling
and posing with the alleged killer, Ogun Samast, a high-school dropout
then 17 years old.
The government is pursuing an alleged "deep state" organization in
a series of massive court cases. It has said it is trying to clean
up state institutions and bring them under full government control,
where for decades they had acted as a law unto themselves, on occasion
toppling elected governments. Ms. Becerik, however, said the government
needed to do more in the case of Mr. Dink.
"We will take this decision as a basis to renew our criminal complaints
[in Turkey] and take those responsible to court," as well as demand
the current investigation be widened, said Ms. Becerik.
"These people cannot be taken to court because the regional governors
did not give permission. The governors are civil servants and they
answer to the government, which can take them to court."
Ms. Becerik said the family hadn't accepted the government's offer
of an amicable settlement, partly because it came too late, but also
because a negotiation would follow in which the family would be asked
to compromise on their efforts to secure justice.
By MARC CHAMPION
Wall Street Journal
Sept 14 2010
ISTANBUL
The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday ruled that Turkey was
guilty of failing to protect ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
when authorities knew his assassination was imminent, and of then
failing to adequately investigate his murder.
Mr. Dink, the editor of the small, Istanbul-based Armenian-language
daily Agos, was killed with three shots to the back of the head as
he returned to the newspaper's offices in January 2007. His murder
became a cause celèbre in Turkey, and a symbol of the state's alleged
protection or even encouragement of nationalist extremists.
"None of the three authorities informed of the planned assassination
and its imminent realization had taken action to prevent it," the
court found, while "no effective investigation had been carried out"
into those failures.
The decision is an embarrassment for the government of Turkey's
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which has pledged to improve the
rights and treatment of the country's ethnic minorities. The government
recently sought to settle with the family, after withdrawing a defense
of the state's actions that relied on a precedent that appeared to
compare Mr. Dink's comments aimed at reconciling Turkish and Armenian
views on the 1915 slaughter of ethnic Armenians with hate speech by
a neo-Nazi.
A spokesman for the ministry of justice didn't return calls requesting
comment on the ruling. Turkey's foreign ministry issued a statement
saying the government didn't intend to appeal the court ruling,
and that "studies for implementation of Dink verdict rulings will
be done and every possible measure for preventing repeat of similar
violations will be taken."
Mr. Dink's family brought the case against the Turkish state at the
European court in Strasbourg. Tuesday's ruling found for the family
on all counts, according to their lawyer Arzu Becerik, awarding Mr.
Dink's widow ~@100,000 ($128,760) in damages.
Police launched an investigation into the young Turkish
ultranationalist who allegedly carried out the murder. They
investigated 17 others, though not the police chiefs and regional
governors the family believe were complicit in obstructing prosecution
of those responsible, Ms. Becerik said in an interview. A video taken
immediately after the assassination appeared to show police smiling
and posing with the alleged killer, Ogun Samast, a high-school dropout
then 17 years old.
The government is pursuing an alleged "deep state" organization in
a series of massive court cases. It has said it is trying to clean
up state institutions and bring them under full government control,
where for decades they had acted as a law unto themselves, on occasion
toppling elected governments. Ms. Becerik, however, said the government
needed to do more in the case of Mr. Dink.
"We will take this decision as a basis to renew our criminal complaints
[in Turkey] and take those responsible to court," as well as demand
the current investigation be widened, said Ms. Becerik.
"These people cannot be taken to court because the regional governors
did not give permission. The governors are civil servants and they
answer to the government, which can take them to court."
Ms. Becerik said the family hadn't accepted the government's offer
of an amicable settlement, partly because it came too late, but also
because a negotiation would follow in which the family would be asked
to compromise on their efforts to secure justice.
RFE/RL Report
European Court Faults Turkey Over Dink's Killing
14.09.2010
Turkey -- Dink, Hrant, a Turkish-Armenian journalist at his office in
Istanbul, after an Istanbul court on Friday sentenced him to a
six-month suspended sentence for "insult to the Turkish national
identity", 7 Oct. 2006
(Vicky Buffery, Reuters) - The European Court of Human Rights ruled on
Tuesday that Turkish authorities failed to prevent a journalist's
assassination even though they knew that ultra-nationalists were
plotting his death.
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was gunned down outside his
office in January 2007 after receiving death threats from far-right
groups over his calls for Turkey to accept its role in the mass
killings of Armenians in 1915.
The Strasbourg court said authorities had failed to investigate
seriously the threat of an assassination attempt, and ordered them to
pay 100,000 euros ($128,700) in compensation to Dink's widow and
children.
"The Court took the view that the Turkish security forces could
reasonably be considered to have been aware of the intense hostility
towards Hrant Dink in nationalist circles," the Court said in its
ruling. "None of the three authorities informed of the planned
assassination and its imminent realization had taken action to prevent
it."
Arzu Becerik, a lawyer for the Dink family, said she hoped the ruling
would push Turkey to call those involved to account and to change its
tune on human rights and democracy. "We will now apply to the courts
for certain public officials to be tried. The government actually
needs to take the necessary steps without us having to apply," Becerik
told Reuters Television in Istanbul.
Turkey -- People hold placards, reading We Are All Armenian, We are
all Hrant Dink, during a silent demonstration near an Istanbul court,
02Jul2007
Turkey's foreign ministry said in an e-mailed statement that it would
not appeal against the ruling. "Efforts will be undertaken to meet the
clauses in the Dink ruling and all measures will be taken to prevent a
repeat of similar violations in the future."
The Dink case, which was brought before the Strasbourg court by
members of the journalist's family, has been closely followed by the
European Union, which is currently examining Turkey's efforts to join
the 27-nation area. Accession negotiations began five years ago, but
have moved slowly, due in part to EU concerns over Turkey's human
rights record and insufficient democratic reforms.
Prior to his death, Dink, who was editor-in-chief of Turkish-Armenian
newspaper "Agos", had been given a suspended jail sentence under
article 301 of Turkey's penal code, for insulting "Turkishness" in his
writings on the mass killings. However, the Court of Human Rights said
that sentence had violated his freedom of expression and made him a
target for extreme nationalists.
The chief suspect in Dink's assassination is facing trial in Turkey
alongside 18 other suspected accomplices. Another 29 people, including
ex-army officers, have been arrested in an investigation into a
far-right gang said to be behind a series of killings, including that
of Dink.
Turkey was also ordered to pay 5,000 euros to Dink's brother Hasrof
Dink and a further 28,595 euros in costs and expenses.
Turkey -- Dink, Hrant, a Turkish-Armenian journalist at his office in
Istanbul, after an Istanbul court on Friday sentenced him to a
six-month suspended sentence for "insult to the Turkish national
identity", 7 Oct. 2006
(Vicky Buffery, Reuters) - The European Court of Human Rights ruled on
Tuesday that Turkish authorities failed to prevent a journalist's
assassination even though they knew that ultra-nationalists were
plotting his death.
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was gunned down outside his
office in January 2007 after receiving death threats from far-right
groups over his calls for Turkey to accept its role in the mass
killings of Armenians in 1915.
The Strasbourg court said authorities had failed to investigate
seriously the threat of an assassination attempt, and ordered them to
pay 100,000 euros ($128,700) in compensation to Dink's widow and
children.
"The Court took the view that the Turkish security forces could
reasonably be considered to have been aware of the intense hostility
towards Hrant Dink in nationalist circles," the Court said in its
ruling. "None of the three authorities informed of the planned
assassination and its imminent realization had taken action to prevent
it."
Arzu Becerik, a lawyer for the Dink family, said she hoped the ruling
would push Turkey to call those involved to account and to change its
tune on human rights and democracy. "We will now apply to the courts
for certain public officials to be tried. The government actually
needs to take the necessary steps without us having to apply," Becerik
told Reuters Television in Istanbul.
Turkey -- People hold placards, reading We Are All Armenian, We are
all Hrant Dink, during a silent demonstration near an Istanbul court,
02Jul2007
Turkey's foreign ministry said in an e-mailed statement that it would
not appeal against the ruling. "Efforts will be undertaken to meet the
clauses in the Dink ruling and all measures will be taken to prevent a
repeat of similar violations in the future."
The Dink case, which was brought before the Strasbourg court by
members of the journalist's family, has been closely followed by the
European Union, which is currently examining Turkey's efforts to join
the 27-nation area. Accession negotiations began five years ago, but
have moved slowly, due in part to EU concerns over Turkey's human
rights record and insufficient democratic reforms.
Prior to his death, Dink, who was editor-in-chief of Turkish-Armenian
newspaper "Agos", had been given a suspended jail sentence under
article 301 of Turkey's penal code, for insulting "Turkishness" in his
writings on the mass killings. However, the Court of Human Rights said
that sentence had violated his freedom of expression and made him a
target for extreme nationalists.
The chief suspect in Dink's assassination is facing trial in Turkey
alongside 18 other suspected accomplices. Another 29 people, including
ex-army officers, have been arrested in an investigation into a
far-right gang said to be behind a series of killings, including that
of Dink.
Turkey was also ordered to pay 5,000 euros to Dink's brother Hasrof
Dink and a further 28,595 euros in costs and expenses.
DINK FAMILY WILL DISTRIBUTE COMPENSATION TO
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN TURKEYTert.am
11:25 15.09.10
The money that the Turkish state will pay to the family of the
slain Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink as compensation will
be distributed to educational institutions, Dink's widow Rakel Dink
said as she addressed the public on Tuesday on the very site Dink
was assassinated in 2007.
On Tuesday European Court of Human Rights found Turkish state guilty
of failing to protect Dink's right to life and freedom of expression.
The court also found Turkey guilty of failing to protect Dink's right
to due legal process and ordered the state to pay 105,000 Euros to
his family in total compensation, as well as an extra 28,595 Euros
to the court for expenses.
Among the educational institutions that the compensation will be
distributed to are also Central Armenian College and the Protestant
Church after Gedik Pasha.
According to Turkish daily Milliyet, Mrs. Rakel also said that the
court's ruling came as a present to Hrant on the occasion of his
birthday (Hrant Dink was born on 15 Sept. 1954). Further she said that
they would leave Turkey, would the court not satisfy their request.
"In a planned and organized way some people wanted to have the Turkish
society believe that Hrant has insulted the Turkishness, and as if
he is an enemy of Turkey," said she in tears.
"Given this ruling we want to believe that a lot will be changed in
Turkey in terms of judiciary and politics. We are hopeful that from
now on the Turkish state will quit its working style of justifying
the guilty and accusing the innocent," said she.
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